Hope on Hopkins Distillery at a glance...

Ex-lawyers and partners Lucy Beard and Leigh Lisk toil and play to bring you handcrafted spirits packed full of new flavours and an interesting range of botanicals, made by using the age old process of batch distillation with their two faithful stills – Mildred and Maude.

Their dedication to their craft and respectful handling of carefully sourced quality ingredients culminates in their three Hope on Hopkins Gins: the classic “grain to glass” London Dry Gin, the South African inspired Salt River Gin and the more experimental, savoury Mediterranean Gin, as well as a small batch vodka and their 100% organic local agave spirit, Esperanza (which they’re not allowed to call Tequila). They also handcraft gins for other brands, including Musgrave 11 and Musgrave Pink Gin, Bloedlemoen Gin and the newly launched Clemengold Citrus Gin.

Hope on Hopkins Distillery: a small-batch distillery in the industrial heart of the Mother City.

After toiling away in the bustle of the City of London for nearly 15 years, ex-lawyers Lucy Beard and Leigh Lisk abandoned the rat race to follow the sun. The couple eventually found their way back home, to South Africa – after falling in love with craft gin in the Mediterranean – and refurbished a rundown warehouse in the heart of industrial Salt River, creating the Mother City’s first distillery.

It is in this small urban haven that the two of them work (and live), dedicating their lives to the age old process of batch distillation with their two faithful stills – Mildred and Maude – the first stills to be licensed in the City of Cape Town. Mildred and Maude are gleaming stainless steel, very much in keeping with the industrial heartland of Salt River, and a breakaway from the traditional copper pot stills used by other distillers in South Africa.

You are welcome to come and celebrate the fine art of batch distilling with a “gin experience” at our distillery. We host the Gin Experience one Wednesday evening a month. It is a chance to sit down and do a curated gin tasting with us: we’ll talk you through the Distillery, the gins and our adventures in getting Hope on Hopkins off the ground. Booking is essential – email sarina@hopeonhopkins.co.za to book your place.

For a more casual sampling of the gins we craft, we open the Distillery Tasting Room on Saturday afternoons between 12 and 5pm. The Tasting Room overlooks the Distillery Floor, so you get to see where the magic happens, and you can choose to sample our gins in a “DIY” style tasting. We suggest you book in advance to secure your place, but drop ins are welcome (be warned: we will turn you away if we don’t have space). Email sarina@hopeonhopkins.co.za in regards to bookings and for any additional information.

*Consultation with Mimo the original Distillery Cat may be arranged on special request

*Martini Distillery-cat-in-training and Mr Scruff the rescue pup will be waiting to show you around